Chelsea Kids Neighborhood Guide

Does anyone do fairy tales straight anymore? I don't think so—and that's a good thing. Even Disney threw out the old helpless princess saved by the handsome price routine over a decade ago. Still, no one has quite the same twisted take on childhood classics as author Jon Scieszka. He doesn't just reinvent fairy tales, he blows them to bits. In his world, the Ugly Duckling really is an ugly duckling, and she's totally okay with that, thank you very much.

Now Atlantic for Kids—the family wing of the decidedly grown-up Atlantic Theater Company—is bringing the ridiculous stories in Scieszka's 1992 book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales to life and they are, as advertised, gleefully stupid. But they're also funny, silly, kooky and surprising and, best of all, the moral of the story is that there doesn't need to be one.

When our neighborhood school wouldn’t accept our child with special needs into the second grade because there was supposedly “no space,” we called Advocates for Children of New York. After suffering through weeks of stress and strife on our own, the organization got us in touch with the right people and our son was enrolled into our school of choice within two days.

My son and I are understandably very thankful for Advocates for Children of New York (AFC), which was founded by three activists in 1971 to help disabled, disadvantaged, minority and low-income families access quality education for their children. This unique agency provides all NYC students ages 0 to 26 and their families with free one-on-one guidance and advocacy so they can successfully navigate the jungle that is our city's educational system.

While AFC isn't solely concerned with special needs families, we are one of the communities it serves. So I'm profiling the organization today as part of my series of posts about resources for NYC children with special needs. But remember, it serves all NYC students.

We keep our Museum Guide filled with the best current NYC exhibits for kids and families. But this being New York City, some of the coolest installations are actually free public art displays on the streets, in the parks and even down in the subway.

Going on a do-it-yourself tour of underground subway art is a fun (and almost free) activity, especially when it's cold or rainy. Of course with more than 250 pieces of art in our city's subway stations, not all are worth a special trip. That's why we've picked out nine favorites, all permanently on view, that will really intrigue kids, from funky murals to illuminated installations, whimsical sculptures to an interactive musical work.